New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been accused of sexual harassment. AP. Former aide Lindsey Boylan claimed that Cuomo had harassed her for years. She did not make specific claims but said she was criticized by the Governor on her looks. She also said she did not want to make statements to the media. Boylan quite after complaints about her behavior. Boylan is also running for Manhattan Borough president as a Democrat.
Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched.
— Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) December 13, 2020
I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.
My Comment:
I've got mixed feelings on this one. One the one hand I certainly believe that Governor Cuomo could have sexually harassed someone. For one thing he's a male supporter of Feminism which is a warning flag in itself. Plus he seems to get off on having power, and I don't see much of a difference between harassing one of your employees and shutting down an entire state for no real reason.
One the other hand, this is a very thin accusation. Boylan did not provide any evidence for her claims or any collaborating statements. Indeed, it just seems like it is her word against Governor Cuomo's and in a he said she said case, the correct thing to do is give the accused the benefit of the doubt.
I also think that it's clear that Boylan has political reasons to potentially falsely accuse Cuomo. She seems to have major disagreements with her party on how progressive it is and even Cuomo isn't far enough to the left for her. Accusing Cuomo of harassment could give her the political clout to win a race.
Further more it looks like there might have been some personal animosity with Cuomo as it appears that she was a hard person to get along with. It's possible that the harassment was all in her head. Or she is making it up just because she dislikes Cuomo.
The biggest red flag to me though is that she isn't willing to talk to the press. Though the press hardly seems interested in taking down Cuomo, if she made a statement she could be fact checked by someone. Keeping her accusations vague and unsubstantiated makes sure that doesn't happen.
With all that being said, I do think this probably warrants an investigation. I'm willing to give Cuomo the benefit of the doubt but I do think that someone should look into the accusations against him. If he is guilty of harassing an aide then he should be punished for it. But if he isn't then I think Boylan should be punished.
As much as I despise Cuomo I despise people who falsely accuse people more. I tend to think that this accusation is probably false but I also don't know for sure. An investigation should happen but it's pretty sad that this is even a thing no matter what the outcome is.
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